Sharp Objects S01E05

Just when I thought that Adora could not get any worst and that I couldn’t hate her anymore than I already did, she continuously proved me wrong throughout this episode by one-upping herself in pretty much every scene she’s in, with how incredibly despicable, hateful, mean-spirited, spiteful and just plain old evil she could truly be.

Firstly, there was the whole incident at the clothing store. Adora really never misses and opportunity to insult Camille. Her idea of introducing Camille to a stranger was to immediately demean her and let it be known that Camille is nothing like her. Then when Camille was at her most vulnerable, half-naked and with all of her cutting scars on display, Adora decided to the opportunity to not just demean her – yet again – by calling her “ruined”, but to make Camille’s cutting all about her. Because of course your adult daughter cut herself all over her body to spite you, Adora. That was truly the most self-centered we’ve ever seen her. I actually thought for a moment that she was going to show sympathy toward Camille.

The entire thing was instigated by Amma, though, who seemed to be jealous that Adora’s attention was on Camille. She said in a previous scene that it was easy to get Adora riled up and told her about Camille’s new article – with choice quotes – to do just that. In fact, she was no doubt still angry that she wasn’t the first to see the article. So she was doubly getting back at Camille. This wasn’t the only time during the episode that Amma acted out to get attention.

Secondly, was Adora’s failed attempt to turn Richard against Camille. I knew that when Jodes went up to Camille and told her that Amma wanted to run lines with her, that it had been Adora who sent her over there to get Camille away from Richard. Her chief concern was that Camille was casting her in an unfavourable light and making herself out to be a good person and Camille a liar, or at least unreliable because she was emotionally unstable. Which is actually true.

However, that she weaponised her daughter’s distress against her and used Marian’s death to discredit Camille, while simultaneously trying to present herself like she was trying to look out for her was truly something. Fortunately, it looked like Richard knew exactly what she was doing and wasn’t taking her on. I don’t know how to feel about the fact that he didn’t tell Camille what Adora said. I don’t quite trust him so he might be being a little shady. But he is aware of how Camille is doing, so he could just as easily be trying to protect her.

Camille’s talking to Richard about his tête-à-tête with Adora and Bob Nash attacking John Keene are why Amma ran away; Camille and Adora’s attention were not on her. She looked to be very upset that Camille wasn’t watching her during her performance and downright distraught that Adora was focused on the fight. Not only does she know how to get to Adora, she also knows how to get to Camille. Now that she’s seen Camille’s extensive cutting scars, she knows how to manipulate her.

Given Adora’s over-protectiveness since Ann and Natalie were murdered and the tensions leading up to Calhoun Day because their murderer hadn’t been caught, disappearing was precisely what she needed to do get Camille and Adora’s attention on her. She didn’t get just their attention, however, she got the attention of the entire town. And Amma is going to milk it for days to come. Camille doesn’t seem to buy her schtick, though.

The third, last and worst example of how evil Adora Crellin is came at the very end of the episode. In yet another moment when I believed that she had finally found it within herself to feel sympathy for Camille. One would think that considering that Camille was the one who “saved” Amma – Adora’s precious one who can do no wrong – that she’d have earned some good faith from Adora. But no. No matter what Camille does, Adora insists on hating her. She doubled down on it in fact and once again used Camille’s emotional fragility as a weapon against her.

She told Camille that she never loved her and it was Camille’s fault that she couldn’t. Well, she really blamed it on Camille’s father, but more or less said that her “cold nature” was inherited from him and that coldness is the reason she never loved Camille. Then she had the gall, the gumption, the nerve, to tell Camille that she hoped it was some comfort while “tenderly” moving her hair out of her face. The woman is a monster. Evil incarnate. That’s why I’m glad Amma is the hell spawn that she is. It will eventually bite Adora in her prissy little butt.

Speaking of Amma, this is another episode that made me feel all the more confident that she’s the killer. Her apparent need to be the centre of attention could be a motive for why she killed Ann and Natalie. Adora was tutoring them and seemed to have a close enough relationship with them that she was beside herself with grief when they died. She’s prone to melodramatics, however, so her reaction doesn’t really say much about that.

But Amma doesn’t need much of a trigger to act out for attention. It’s not unreasonable to think that, given their ongoing relationship with Adora, that she would have felt like they were robbing her of her mother’s attention. Plus, she straight up lied to Camille’s face when asked about her relationship with Ann and Nicole and downplayed how close they were. She didn’t want to talk about them at all.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be Adora, though. Camille did say that she thinks that Amma is afraid of something and Adora could be that very thing.

Random thoughts:

This photographer is far less bothered than Adora.

Why isn’t Camille in the photo with Adora and Marian?

Adora suddenly has time to run lines with Amma now that Camille has volunteered to do it?

Awww. Camille smiled when she saw Richard.

Geez, calm down Ashley.

Does everyone know about Amma besides Adora?

Of course Jocelyn knows about Adora and Vickery.

Why is this woman watching Mr. Lacey with Camille and Amma so hard?

They telegraphed that fight so hard.

Sharp Objects airs Sundays at 9 PM on HBO.

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An avid reader who accidentally discovered her love and talent for writing and has loved movies for as long as she has been watching them. Stumbled into film-making and found her second love because she decided to read for a degree in it on a whim - kind of.